


to the lost, to your memory

by Golbez



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, No Dialogue, Sad, Wakes & Funerals, Wordcount: 100-1.000, the author is coping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 18:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4315884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golbez/pseuds/Golbez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The days surrounding the funeral are the worst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to the lost, to your memory

The days surrounding the funeral are the worst.

They do not let Aladdin help, not with this. He can only watch Yam direct the attendants Ja'far had sent to them. Where they had needed him just a day before, now they only told him to sit by and let them do what was necessary.

One of the attendants tells him to leave, that this is no place for children. Aladdin only stares at her until Yam comes over and tells her off.

Yam glances at him, then returns to Dunya's side to supervise the preparations on her body.

They bathe her blackened skin in milk and honey. To cleanse, whispers the one who had told him to leave, but her tone makes it clear she thinks the bathing is pointless. Dunya is unrecognizable, after all. There is nothing to cleanse left - he had done what he could, and it had not been enough.

They carry her out eventually, a white shroud over her face. Aladdin follows where she goes, her laughter still ringing in his ears and her smile still clear in his mind.

So few are the people allowed to see her off, that he can almost count them all on his hands. This is all they can give her, a quiet ceremony, regal but simple. Befitting an exiled princess. They let him throw the first flower for her, and then he's stepping aside so the others can follow suit. He watches the flames consume her and every bit of the life she had led.

Alibaba is at his side, as is Mor. He still has them.

He knows he has to go to Magnostadt now.

 

The days surrounding the funeral are the worst.

Balbadd is stripped of most color. Every garment in the city replaced with white cloth and designated bands of muted colors. There is a scramble in the palace. Preparations and arrangements are made. Who wears what, who stands where. At least, they let him wear his black robes still, even as Alibaba's household eventually wear the uniform white robes. They wear blue belts and blue bands.

Aladdin doesn't know who's in charge of this. He doesn't care, he still hears Alibaba's words.

They make him leave Alibaba to them. One moment he's at Alibaba's side, the next they're ushering him out as if he were some bystander. The next time he sees Alibaba, he's dressed in the finest of Kou silk, surrounded by flowers and banners and incense and so, so many people. All of Balbadd has come to mourn their former prince.

When Mor arrives, he is idly standing by one of the incense pots. The smoke makes his eyes water, but the scent dulls his mind. Mor only has time to come and hug him, then she's whisked away by nameless attendants. When she comes back she's in the white robes and Kougyoku has her hands on her shoulders. They both wear black belts and black bands around their waists and arms, a striking contrast to everyone else's.

In the ceremonies after, Aladdin stands to the side, while Mor stands at the head of Alibaba's household. She kneels for him and goes through the motions with her unflinching calmness. Kougyoku stands beside her, a veil over her face, weeping. The ceremonies carry on like this, until Kougyoku is called away to do her duty as a general. She has no time to be playing a would-be wife, not when there is so much at stake. Mor does not take up the veil offered to her, keeping to her position as head of household.

No one dares to give Aladdin a role to play.

He has to decide what to do next, for himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I first started writing this after reading Night 265, but got stuck early on. Due to recent events in my non-fandom life, I managed to speed through the rest of it today. This is unedited and there are probably errors in details and such, but this is a very personal piece and I frankly don't care for once.
> 
> It's pretty obvious that I put more thought into what Alibaba's funeral would be like than in Dunya's. I drew from my own experience with Chinese funerary customs to write this, so this is not by any means a stylistic decision, even if I do think it also works to emphasize Aladdin's relationship with the latter more.


End file.
